Asia Gets Real

The demand for factual content, from lifestyle fare to high-end docs, remains high across Asia.

This November, the Chinese video platform Tencent aired, day and date with the British broadcast, BBC Worldwide’s ambitious new blue-chip series Planet Earth II. It marked the first time that BBC Worldwide had co-produced a documentary with a video platform in China, and the deal is reflective of the significant shifts under way in Asia’s factual programming business.

Factual has always been an in-demand genre in Asia, where free-to-air broadcasters routinely place docs in prime time and where brands like Discovery, National Geographic and HISTORY command a significant share of pay-TV viewing. There have been a few developments over the last year, however, that are pushing the genre to new heights, notably the proliferation of digital platforms, the rollout of 4K and increased interest from services for factual fare about Asia.

“There is a huge appetite for factual programs, and it keeps growing continuously,” says Ralf Rückauer, the VP of ZDFE.factual at ZDF Enterprises.

“Factual is making a comeback,” adds Sonia Fleck, the CEO of Bomanbridge Media. “In the past, a lot of doc features and the more award-winning factual titles, while getting pickups and some deals done, may not have been as commercially viable. The SVOD services are starting to look for this kind of 90-minute factual. That’s different from last year when they wanted more straight-up 50-minute-episode series.”

The rapid proliferation of OTT players has seen traditional buyers take a more “aggressive approach to rights acquired and holdbacks requested,” observes Natalie Lawley, the managing director of Escapade Media. OTT platforms themselves, meanwhile, “have opened up more avenues for content that may not find a home on linear channels. Also, the leading platforms are paying for premiere rights, but overall it feels like the region is still in the set-up phase, and obviously these services are greatly impacted by the broadband available.”

Digital platforms have created a “fantastic second window for our content,” notes Roger Vanderspikken, the sales manager for Asia and in-flight at Fred Media, as well as slots for “titles that would be more niche or too risky for some broadcasters.”

ZDFE.factual’s Rückauer says that digital platforms “have an enormous need for programming. Just recently, we signed huge package deals with Tencent in China and One TV in Hong Kong for various Southeast Asian territories.”

DEFINING THE FUTURE
For Blue Ant International, the launch of new platforms has helped drive demand for its 4K natural-history slate. “A lot of the OTT services are acquiring native 4K content,” says Solange Attwood, the company’s senior VP. “From a linear perspective, South Korea and Japan are the leaders in 4K.” Other broadcasters in the region are also looking at 4K content as they prepare for impending rollouts of the ultra HD format.

“The interest in 4K has been twofold,” explains Escapade’s Lawley. “On the one hand it feels specific to those territories/platforms already able to broadcast in 4K, but we have had buyers researching content for when they change to 4K. There is a definite widespread feeling of ‘it’s coming’ but not quite there yet.”

IN THE WILD
The interest in 4K is part of the continued appetite for blue-chip natural-history series. ZDFE.factual’s best sellers in the region hail from the wildlife and nature segments of its catalog, Rückauer says.

“There has always been a demand for science programs, for example Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age, and programs dealing with space, such as World War A: The Human Chronicles.”

“We’re getting a lot more requests for blue-chip,” states Bomanbridge’s Fleck, prompting the company to acquire a raft of high-end content ahead of the market, including multiple From Above documentaries from Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

“They are really at the forefront of absolutely fantastic 4K technology, and the locations are socially relevant,” Fleck notes, adding that she’s been taking on several titles that showcase the diverse cultures and landscapes of the Middle East and North Africa, plus a wealth of natural-history content. At ATF, Bomanbridge will also be launching arts docs from the Italian outfit Nexo Digital and its partners Sky 3D, Sky Arte HD and Magnitudo, including Florence and the Uffizi Gallery 3D/4K and St. Peter’s and the Papal Basilicas of Rome 3D.

“These award-winning programs, while they are a lot more expensive to acquire, are really in the limelight at the moment,” Fleck continues.

At Tricon Films & Television, Nick Solowski, senior director of international sales and acquisitions, is witnessing “a continued desire for high-end, glossy content, but with an increase in audience takeaway.”

Vanderspikken at Fred Media says that “safe” content in the travel, food and male-skewing areas continue to drum up the most activity for the Australian company. “Our clients are still on the lookout for animals, science, arts, technology, ‘how-to’ and docudramas,” he adds.

JUST THE FACTS
Escapade’s Lawley is witnessing a growing need for factual-entertainment shows with broad appeal and cross-media elements. “The request for titles that have web-based VR has increased, and we have received significant interest in our factual titles that cover fresh and original subject matters.”

The company arrives at ATF with shows like JC Tha Barber, focused on the celebrity barber and his high-end clients from the film, music and sports worlds, and Steve Backshall & The Vertical Mile.

Vanderspikken says that Southeast Asia, Japan and pan-regional broadcasters have been among the company’s best customers. “We would love to work more in Indonesia, India, China and the Philippines,” he says.

“Our strongest relationships continue to be with the pan-Asian buyers and the Australian and New Zealand broadcasters,” says Tricon’s Solowski. “We’ve seen some nice bumps in activity in Malaysia and Vietnam. We’d like to see more in every territory!”

“We’ve had a lot of success in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore,” says Blue Ant’s Attwood. “We’ve had great success pan-regionally. We want to continue to focus on those territories. But there is great activity happening with some of the emerging markets. Certainly Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand continue to be interesting territories. Our aim is to always be doing business with everybody.”

One major growth area for Blue Ant is Asian co-production. Attwood mentions new opportunities emerging in India, among other territories. “We want to produce more content and co-produce more content across Asia. We are already in the process of doing that with some of our natural-history slate. We’d like to be co-producing across all genres.”

PARTNER POTENTIAL
ZDFE.factual has been a long-standing co-production partner of NHK in Japan, recently collaborating on two episodes of Deep Ocean. “We would like to meet new partners and explore new possibilities in the linear and non-linear area,” Rückauer says. “It is a vibrant market with many chances for a company like ZDF Enterprises. Our goal for the future is to achieve co-productions with partners in other major territories in the region, such as South Korea and India.”

Lawley says that conversations are ongoing with production houses across Asia for factual fare. “These opportunities involve both Escapade looking for co-production partners for some of our titles in development, but also looking to be the co-production partner for a number of Asian projects.”

Tricon has been adding Asian content to its slate, partnering with Li TV and MediaCorp on a range of titles.

Solowski expects to maintain this approach as Tricon continues to diversify its factual offerings.

At Bomanbridge, an important new strategy has been “content curation,” Fleck states. “Asia is looking at subjects that are coming from Asia. The content that we’re starting to see get picked up here is centered on origination from the region, or at least has a subject angle on the region. We’re curating a portion of our catalog, hitting the sweet spot in terms of what the broadcasters want in the genre.”

Pictured: Escapade’s JC Tha Barber.